Click here to submit your
news ideas and stories to the
Manchester Press!
| | 
The
Official Newspaper of Manchester and Delaware County, Iowa
Tuesday, December 11, 2007
| |
Johnsons donate to rec center
by Ken Boesenberg |
The dream of a “recreation center” in Manchester was hatched in 1982, some 25 years ago.
In the early days, when the possibility of a recreation center was being tossed around Bill had the idea of such a facility having a swimming pool.
The late D. William “Bill” Johnson and his wife, Maxine shared in that dream. Together, in 1982, they made the first gift towards seeing that dream become a reality. It was some 20 years later in 2003 that the Delaware County Rec Center opened its doors.
“Bill always thought that some sort of indoor pool facility would be a great addition to Manchester,” commented wife Maxine.
Through all of the time between that first donation and the actual opening of the Rec Center Bill and wife Maxine continued their support for its completion.
|
Johnsons donate to rec center |
The Johnson’s made their last contribution to the Rec Center in the form of an insurance policy that Bill had taken out.
Bill passed away Feb. 4, 2007 after a 15 year battle with Parkinson’s disease.
The Johnson’s came to Manchester in 1955 from Sioux City when Bill was asked to oversee and manage the new Payless Cashway Lumber yard.
That opportunity started a 51 year love affair with the community of Manchester for the Johnsons.
“Over the years we built four houses in town and always tried to be active members of the community,” commented Maxine Johnson.
During his time in Manchester, Bill was active in many organizations including Jaycees, the Lions Club, and the West Delaware Board of Education.
He was member of the Board of Education for six years, serving as president for four of those years.
During his time with the Lions Club, Bill was honored with the Melvin Jones Fellowship Award, which is the Lions Club International Foundation’s highest honor.
It was that kind of commitment to whatever he undertook that made Bill one of the leaders of the Manchester community.
Bill remained very active in the community even after retiring from the lumber business in 1982.
After several months of retirement he took on the task of studying to become an insurance agent.
He became qualified and worked for the Dave Harper Insurance Agency for nearly 10 years.
“He (Bill) was an avid photographer, he just loved taking pictures,” commented Maxine. “He always had a camera and was taking pictures when we were traveling or around family functions.
Today’s Delaware County Rec Center, once a dream, is a reality thanks to the generosity of the Johnson’s.
“I am amazed at the size of the building and all of the things that are available for people to do there,” concluded Mrs. Johnson.
In February of 2008 the Rec Center will celebrate it’s 5th anniversary with a gala “open house.” |
ECIA annual report, new routes for RTA
by Latisha Sand |
The East Central Intergovernmental Association (ECIA) released their fiscal year 2007 Annual Report last week, which included an overview of association’s accomplishments and new routes for the Regional Transit Authority.
“Fiscal year 2007 was a year of review, reflection and analysis for ECIA,” said Executive Director Kelley H. Deutmeyer. “One of our most important tasks this year involving our ECIA Council was the review of our organizational structure, Bylaws and Articles of Agreement.”
According to the report, ECIA received $82,395 of membership fees during the 2007 fiscal year, with 38 percent ($30,936) going to Economic Development, 31 percent ($25,915) to DMATS, 13 percent ($10,538) to Regional Transportation, 8 percent ($7,001) to Technical Assistance and 10 percent ($8,005) to miscellaneous.
However, membership fees only consisted of 2 percent of the association’s funding source. US Department of Housing and Urban Development provided 32 percent of their funding, US Department of Labor 12 percent, US Department of Transportation 11 percent, special contacts 10 percent, CDBG/EDSA Administration 9 percent, Service Fees and Assessments 7 percent, US Department of Health and Human Services 6 percent, Business Growth 5 percent, State funds 3 percent, Iowa Department of Natural Resources 1 percent and US Department of Commerce 1 percent.
ECIA assisted 16 communities to complete a variety of projects including water and wastewater system upgrades, pre-disaster mitigation plans, owner occupied housing rehabilitation and homeownership assistance, new childcare centers, water and wastewater system upgrades, environmental assessments, economic development projects, flood damage property acquisition, home ownership assistance and housing construction inspections.
Delhi received $607,597 for water system upgrade; Edgewood received $472,507 for water system upgrade; Ryan received $591,907 for wastewater system upgrade; Delhi received $4,860 for pre-disaster mitigation plan; Edgewood received $217,519 for owner occupied housing rehab and Manchester received $299,291 for homeownership assistance.
“ECIA completed its first full year operating the Regional Transit Authority (RTA),” said Deutmeyer. “The RTA was awarded a $702,000 grant through the Revitalize Iowa Infrastructure Fund (RIIF) through the State of Iowa. Due to the grant awarded and the timing of ECIA’s office lease renewal, ECIA began an analysis of partnering with the RTA in developing a joint ECIA office building and RTA storage and maintenance facility. The ECIA Council and RTA Board continue to explore financing and design options and have a projected move in date of May 2008.”
The RTA also received federal grants secured by ECIA under the New Freedoms Program and the Congestion, Mitigation and Air Quality Program. Because of these grants, new routes connecting communities and residents to grocery stores, pharmacies, medical and employment services. RTA was also able to provide affordable fares.
ECIA and RTA are currently looking for additional grants to reduce fares and increase services to University of Iowa Clinics and Hospitals.
RTA provided 176,388 rides and added 300 miles of service in the 2007 fiscal year. The new routes include: in-town Manchester - Monday through Friday 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. (rates vary); Manchester to Dubuque – second Wednesday 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. ($6 round trip); Manchester to Dubuque – first and third Wednesday 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. ($6 round trip); Manchester to Cedar Rapids – fourth Wednesday 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. ($6 round trip); Colesburg/Greeley to Manchester – first Thursday 9 a.m. to 1:15 p.m. ($6 round trip); Colesburg/Edgewood to Manchester – third Thursday 9 a.m. to 1:15 p.m. ($6 round trip).
|
With the rather early snow fall Manchester City Manager, Tim Vick would like to remind the public that it is unlawful to push snow out into the traveled portion of city streets.
“The city is fine with residents pushing snow from their driveways across the street,” commented Vick. However, they need to make sure that that snow ends up above the curb and not on the street where it could cause a hazard.”
There is a city ordinance regarding the dumping of snow, it is rather lengthy and reads as follows.
175.12 DUMPING OF SNOW
“It shall be unlawful for any person to throw, push, place or cause to be thrown, pushed or placed, any ice or snow from private property, sidewalks, or driveways onto the traveled way of a street or alley so as to obstruct gutters, or impede the passage of vehicles upon the street or alley or to create a hazardous condition therein; except where, in the cleaning of large commercial drives in the business district it is absolutely necessary to move the snow onto the street or alley temporarily, such accumulation shall be removed promptly by the property owner or agent, and only after first making arrangements for such prompt removal at the owner’s cost of the accumulation within a reasonably short time.”
“For the most part residents do a great job of dealing with the snow. We just need to make sure that when it is moved that a hazard is not created as a result of pushing snow back into the street,” concluded Vick.
|
109
E. Delaware - P.O. Box 245 - Manchester, Iowa 52057
563-927-2020 / FAX 563-927-4945
Copyright
Manchester Press 2005 - 2006
Thede
Web Works - Web Questions
|